But of course another photographer did accept the “work for hire” term and shot the project instead.

So big deal, right? Well, it actually is a big deal. Professional photographers should avoid “work for hire” on individual projects at all costs.

Here’s why:

Under “work for hire” terms, the employer, not the employee, is considered the author of the work. In other words, the copyright of your photos produced under “work for hire” terms belongs to the employer! You have NO rights to use your own work. You cannot resell it, you cannot even use it as promo materials because you don’t own any rights to your own work!

Now if you work as a staff photographer for a newspaper, that’s one thing. They provide a steady paycheck, benefits, and maybe even equipment. You get worker’s comp, they’ll insure you, etc, etc.

Now consider “work for hire” on an individual shoot. You provide all the equipment, you provide the studio, and you have to pay for liability insurance to cover the shoot. Yet you don’t even own the rights to the photos you just created!

If it’s not clear yet, avoid “work for hire” terms in any contract you are asked to sign. Exceptions would be for staff photographers.

portland photographer pete springer

The irony is that the criticized photos were commissioned by clients. And the clients were happy with the results.

I think as photographers we need to stand back sometimes. Why? Because all that technical stuff about histograms and meters and ratios — clients don’t care about that. They want visually pleasing photos and they really don’t care about anything other than the results and if they can use the final photos or not.

Remember – when you get hired for a shoot, you’re shooting for the client, not yourself or other photographers. You always need to deliver the results the client wants in order to keep them happy.

And when you get a negative comment, consider the source. Not every critique is valuable or even useful.

portland photographer

Here’s an online resource for photographers looking to get canvas prints: Royal Canvas

If you’ve never had a photo printed up on canvas that is stretched over a wooden frame, you have to try it. Canvas prints are my personal favorite way to display photos.

portland photographer pete springer

So here’s a great example of why I like g+ more than FB. It’s from my feed today. Girl in lingerie, French snowman, girl with gun. That’s the kind of simplicity I can deal with.

That and I have 1600+ international followers on g+ compared to a third of that on FB.

portland photographer pete springer

With the news that the owner of Vault Model Management was arrested for sexually abusing at least one of his teenage clients, it seemed like a good idea to list the legitimate modeling agencies in Portland for reference.

If you’re new to modeling, keep in mind that legitimate agencies NEVER charge a fee to represent you. The agencies make their money by keeping a percentage of the paid work they book you. Which means usually they’ll only sign you if they know they can get you work. But there are a lot of scams to look out for.

One “agency” scam involves an agent scouting you and telling you they want to sign you but you’ll need photos first. And coincidentally, it turns out the agency owner is also a photographer. For the bargain price of $2500, the agency owner/photographer will shoot your portfolio. Try to hire another photographer to shoot those same photos, and you’ll learn only the photos shot by the agency owner are acceptable.

One obvious issue with this scam is that as a real-life model, you’ll be working with all kinds of photographers. It’s very unlikely that your agency rep/photographer will be the photographer on photo shoots. In other words, if the agency owner is the only person who can take decent photos of you, it’s unlikely they are a legitimate agency.

Here are some questions to ask before signing with a modeling agency:

In my experience as a model photographer in Portland, these are the established, legitimate modeling agencies in Portland:

If the Portland modeling agency you are thinking about signing with isn’t on this list, I’d be very careful before signing. Check references. Trust your gut feelings. Ask around. For example, it’s long been rumored that Vault was basically a dating service for the owner. Apparently it was much worse than that. By taking the time to check around before you sign, you’ll learn information like this. Portland is a small town and it’s easy to get the low down when you check around.

Portland photographer Pete Springer

Cool idea here that I stumbled upon — I hung sheer red fabric off a light stand behind the model and in front of the window. It gives the background a nice red tint with no gels or strobes required.

BTW: this shoot was amazing. I am soooo happy with the photos! And I shot video. So stay tuned!

Model Parveen, hair/makeup Jessica Belknap

Portland photographer Pete Springer

For photographers interested in moving forward into the future — make sure to check out New Media Photographer. You’ll find weekly podcasts, tips, links, and basically so much photography info you may have trouble keeping up! Seriously — 150 podcasts?!? It’s going to take you a while to work through all of those!

I met blogger, photographer, media guru Rosh Sillars at ASMP’s Strictly Business workshop in Los Angeles this past winter. He’s totally energetic and absolutely committed to not only moving his own photography business forward, but in helping you move your business forward too. His blog is well worth checking out.

Portland photographer Pete Springer

Am I the best fashion photographer in Portland? Probably not. Do I rank first when you google “portland fashion photographer”? Yup.

Notice why in the screengrab above? Notice how the three rankings below me use their names in their web titles first? Big tip there. Drop the ego and think about how new clients are likely to find you. They’re probably not googling your name. And google takes big importance in the way words are ordered in descriptions and web site titles. Note how I used the words “best fashion photographer in Portland” near the start of this post? Google will pick up on that and won’t make sense of the “probably not”.

Portland fashion photographer

AerinRoseSwim @petespringer
Love your swimwear shots! Wish you were in NYC!

See why I love twitter? There’s such a broad audience. Twitter definitely let’s you reach far beyond your local market.

Got a cool twitter feed? Post it in the comments. I’d love to check it out.

Here’s mine: @petespringer

That’s because amazon knows photos help them sell merchandise. They even include previews of books (such as the one below — which coincidentally features a chapter on my photography). People want to see what they’re buying — a description isn’t enough these days.

And despite the saying, consumers really do judge a book by its cover. That’s why a good book cover (hey — another photo by me!) is crucial. Make sure your customers have the best book cover possible to judge your business. Okay, okay, that’s kind of a metaphorical stretch but you get the gist.

A professional photographer really can help you get the best photos of all your goods and services. Photos that will convince customers to spend money at your business. There are tons of crappy, self-shot photos on the web. When you want to stand out, when you want to sell more, it’s time to hire an experienced professional photographer.

Call or email today for a free estimate on how professional photography can increase business on your website!

Pete Springer Photographer, Portland, Oregon